Luther vandross was he gay
First published July 7, , in Between the Lines.
Luther Vandross was the avatar of romance. Other people&#;s.
The famed R&B singer, who died last week at 54, zealously declined to discuss his personal life, telling reporters that it was “none of your damn business.” Indeed, when his biographer Craig Seymour tried repeatedly to broach the subject of his sexuality, the singer told him, “You&#;re trying to zero in on something that you are never ever gonna get&#;.Look at you, just circling the airport. You ain&#;t never gonna land.”
Well, I&#;m just going to come out and say it. Vandross was gay.
Not that I&#;ve ever slept with him, or even know him personally. But his gayness was as much an open secret as Liberace&#;s or Peter Allen&#;s. And appreciate those two similarly flamboyant and energetic performers, he was a master of hiding in plain sight, neither confirming nor denying what anyone with even moderately well-tuned gaydar knew anyway.
So Seymour&#;s biography, Luther: The Life and Longing of Luther Vandross, dances around the question it can&#;t quite ignore. As reviewer
With a velvety voice that could give you goosebumps by hitting just the right note, Luther Vandross is responsible for some of the sexiest songs in modern pop music history.
But the sad reality is that the late, great soul and R&B singer-songwriter spent much of his life alone, waiting to spot that special someone, someone worth singing about.
Though warm and gregarious on stage, Vandross kept his private life very private. It wasn’t until after his untimely passing in , at 54, that folks began to discuss more pointedly about the rumors surrounding his sexuality: Was he gay?
How about we take this to the next level?
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Then in , Vandross’s comrade Patti LaBelle acknowledged he was, indeed, gay, but chose to stay closeted out of apprehension over how it could impact his career.
Her comments, in particular, sparked an outrage over “outing” someone against their will. Sure, Vandross had passed many years p
By George Johnson
The “closet.” A colorful phrase used to describe the lives of people like me who were too afraid to live as a queer people publicly. The place where we brought all of our lovers to do sexual things in the dark. The place where we could sneak off to and party with our gay friends, only to return back to work, or school, or home, and pretend that we were “too busy with _______ to have time for a girlfriend.”
The closet, for many of us, became our place of safety and a second noun. Often, that closet door is a shield, and not always just for ourselves. Sometimes, it is a shield used to protect the ones you care so much that you could never embarrass them by not being perfect in a world that says queer can never be.
On a recent episode ofWatch What Happens Live!, Andy Cohen casually asked Patti Labelle about Luther Vandross’ sexuality. The singer stated that Luther “did not want his mother to be [upset]–although she might have known–he wasn’t going to come out and say this to the world. He had a lot of lady fans. He told me that he just didn’t want to upset
Patti LaBelle: Luther Vandross Didn't Appear Out As Gay Because Of His Mom
When Vandross was alive, there was speculation that he was gay. But, he never officially came out. Cohen asked LaBelle if the two of them ever spoke about his sexuality and the possibility of him one day telling the world his truth. However, LaBelle said that he didn't desire to come out because he didn't want to let certain people down.
"Did he struggle with the idea of coming out publicly? Was that something you talked about, at all?" the talk show host asked. LaBelle then nodded and replied: "Yeah, we talked about it. It was basically, he did not want his mother to be -- although she might include known -- but he wasn't going to come out and say this to the world."
The music icon added: "And he had a lot of lady fans and he told me that he just didn't wanna upset the world It was hard for him."
Watch Patti LaBelle speak about Luther Vandross below.